The special issue draws upon three strands of literature. The first explores the evolving interaction between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. A balanced augmentation approach combining human and artificial intelligence is recommended rather than an automative approach. This calls for co-intelligence, using AI as a co-worker. Recent research has explored the creative collaboration between humans and AI to co-create brand voice, identifying effective human-AI co-creation as happening at three levels: the individual brand professional, the organisational level of brand management and the societal level, the external environment in which the brand operates. Frameworks have been developed for human marketers and consumers collaborating with AI within the retail sector.

A second strand focuses purely on AI in marketing and brand development. One cluster of papers concerns specific technologies such as use of chatbots, AI-empowered voice assistants and AI influencers. Another argues for an enhanced customer experience due to AI through increased efficiency and customer insight. Key issues are identified including the need to bridge the AI-human gap by developing stronger artificial empathy to strengthen the affective and social customer experience. This rapidly evolving focus purely on AI pushes us to consider the implications for the marketing profession but also the relationship between brands and consumers.

The third strand of literature emphasizes a new role for people in developing brands. This includes calls for a new human to human (H2H) mindset as a way of rebuilding brand trust. Employee empathy, verbal communication, emotional intelligence and the ability to handle new and complex situations are identified as core roles of brand managers in an AI world. Marketing professionals are called upon to apply humanity to disrupt AI dominance and be audacious in disrupting brand narratives. Humanistic marketing proposes that the human individual is the start point for strategies that move beyond wealth creation to enable human flourishing. Humanist capitalism is needed for global sustainability. Scholars identify the importance of human insight and creativity for brand purpose, authentic brand expression and creating emotional connections with customers. This strand of literature also discusses the implications of AI capacity and capability within brand management, noting that for smaller organisations such as nonprofits there is a risk they will be left behind in efforts to harness AI for more effective customer-brand relationship building.

The special issue welcomes empirical papers (qualitative and quantitative) as well as thought-leading conceptual papers.

Potential topics

• How can augmented brand intelligence be effectively implemented in strategic and operational brand management and brand control?
• Does augmented brand intelligence lead to an increase or decrease in brand purpose, brand consistency, and creativity?
• What are the possibilities and limitations of augmented brand intelligence in brand science?
• What is the role of AI and humans in consumer-brand interactions?
• What is the role of human emotions in the development of consumer-brand relationships in the age of AI?
• What is the role of human creativity in brand innovation in the age of AI, especially with social innovations aimed at positively impacting society and the planet?
• What humanistic values should brands embrace in order to build a profitable but also responsible business capable of addressing some of the pressing problems that humanity is facing, such as climate change or social inequalities?
• What are the potential ethical dilemmas that the use of AI in branding might raise and how managers should address them?
• How is the role and skill set of brand managers changing in the AI age?
• What are best practice examples of AI currently being used by marketers to drive brands and customer relationships?

Timeline

• August 7, 2026: Opening date for manuscripts submissions
• August 9, 2026: Closing date for manuscripts submission